OUR STORY

Candescent Films supports documentaries and films that illuminate social issues. Lilly Hartley founded Candescent in 2010 to champion actors and filmmakers who are committed to raising awareness through compelling character-driven stories. Candescent partners with organizations that cultivate documentaries. The Audience Award for Summer Docs at the Hamptons Film Festival is sponsored by Candescent. In partnership with Sundance Institute and Tribeca Film Institute, Lilly created the

CANDESCENT AWARD | TRIBECA FILM INSTITUTE

Candescent launched a new initiative with the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) in April 2014. As a New Yorker, Lilly wanted to cultivate and support the educational programs Tribeca created that help young people gain the media skills necessary to be productive global citizens and creative individuals. TFI champions storytellers to be catalysts for change in their communities and around the world. The Candescent Award is given in partnership with TFI to documentary films that premiere at a festival and are supported by TFI. Past recipients include Time is Illmatic and The Yes Men Are Revolting (2014), and The Wolfpack (2015).

OUR FOUNDER

After several years in the film business as an actress and production executive, Lilly Hartley was inspired to start Candescent Films, combining her passion for film and her desire to make a positive difference in the world. Lilly received a Goya Award with Javier Bardem for producing Sons of the Clouds. Among many films, she is a co-executive producer of award winning The Queen of Versailles and an executive producer of Emmy nominated Private Violence. She also produced an experimental short film, Likeness, starring Elle Fanning. Lilly supported Spirit Award nominated After Tillerand Gideon's Army. Her supported films include Academy Award Shortlisted 3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets,and Art and Craft, as well as Academy Award Nominated Cartel Land. She is an executive producers of the recent Sundance Film Festival hit, Trophy, which will be released this year.

Lilly grew up with a love for film and theater, and developed an interest in social causes. Lilly's father is a playwright and graduate of The Yale School of Drama and her Godfather, the late actor Ken Howard, was President of the Screen Actors Guild. Her grandfather, Benjamin Epstein, worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy during the Civil Rights Movement in his position as the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League. Lilly is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and Producers Guild of America, and was named to Marie Claire's 2014 New Guard List of the "50 Most Connected Women in America."She has been involved with supporting a wide variety of charities, including: Oceana, NAMI, and Witness. Lilly is based in New York.

OUR PARTNER

Jeffrey Tarrant is founder, CEO and CIO of Protégé Partners, a specialized asset management firm that he co-founded in 2002. Prior, he was a member of the board of The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF), the leading investment advisory firm for charitable foundations and institutions; and was active in the launch of the Absolute Return Pool (ARP), the first fund of hedge funds specifically designed for the charitable community. Jeffrey is Vice Chairman of ARK US (Absolute Return for Kids), an international charity with a mission to transform the lives of children; and also serves on the board of Witness. Jeffrey is deeply committed to documentaries and believes film has the power to improve the world and create change through education. He is a co-executive producer onQueen of Versailles, and an executive producer Sons of the Clouds, Likeness, and Who is Dayani Cristal?. Prior to the formation of Candescent, he executive produced Smash His Camera, The Third Wave, and God Grew Tired of Us. Tarrant received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1985 and a B.A. in Economics from the University of California at Davis.